Progress towards a representative network of Southern Ocean protected areas

Area of Science:

• Marine Conservation
• Ocean Biodiversity
• Antarctic Ecosystems

Background:

• Global threats to ocean biodiversity have spurred international efforts for improved conservation and management.
• Marine protected areas (MPAs) are recommended for national and international waters, with several adopted in the Southern Ocean.
• The representativeness of existing Antarctic MPAs for Southern Ocean biodiversity remains a critical question.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the biodiversity representation of existing and proposed Antarctic marine protected areas (MPAs).
• To evaluate the effectiveness of current MPA coverage in the Southern Ocean using benthic and pelagic regionalizations as proxies for biodiversity.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of existing and proposed Antarctic MPAs.
• Utilized benthic and pelagic regionalizations as proxies for Southern Ocean biodiversity.
• Quantified the percentage of Southern Ocean protection and no-take areas.

Main Results:

• Approximately 11.98% of the Southern Ocean is currently protected by MPAs, with 4.61% designated as no-take areas.
• Existing Antarctic MPAs are not representative of the full spectrum of benthic and pelagic ecoregions.
• Implementing proposed MPAs would increase protection to nearly 22% of the Southern Ocean and enhance ecoregion representation.

Conclusions:

• Current Antarctic MPAs, despite their proportion, do not adequately represent the region's biodiversity.
• Additional MPAs, including those under negotiation, are crucial for improving the representativeness of conservation efforts.
• Future MPA implementation can substantially increase the protection of diverse benthic and pelagic ecoregions in the Southern Ocean.